Definition

Noun: A prompt copy is the specific copy of a play's script used by the prompter during a theatrical performance. It contains the full script along with detailed, handwritten notes for cues, such as actor entrances, sound effects, lighting changes, and line prompts.

Usage

The prompt copy is an essential backstage document in theater production. It is the master script from which the prompter and stage manager work to ensure the performance runs smoothly and on cue.

Examples

• The stage manager meticulously prepared the prompt copy with all the technical cues before the first rehearsal.
• During the performance, the prompter followed the prompt copy closely, ready to whisper a forgotten line to the actor.
• The director's notes on blocking were transferred into the official prompt copy.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Prompt Book: In theater history, a prompt copy (often called a "promptbook") from a past production can be a valuable archival document, showing how a play was originally staged.
• Creating a Prompt Copy: The process of preparing a prompt copy is called "marking up" the script. This involves adding standardized symbols and notations in the margins.

Variants and Related Words

• Promptbook (noun): A synonym for prompt copy.
• Script (noun): The written text of a play, which forms the basis for the prompt copy.
• Sides (noun): An actor's individual part of the script, containing only their lines and cues, unlike the full prompt copy.

Synonyms

• Promptbook
• Master script
• Annotated script

Related Terms and Phrases

• To call cues: The action, typically done by the stage manager using the prompt copy, of verbally signaling for technical effects to begin.
• The book: A common theatrical slang term for the prompt copy (e.g., "Who's on the book tonight?").

Noun

1. the copy of the playscript used by the prompter